Militarized police forces: Armament needed

Syndicated columnist Ross Douthat recently wrote about how ridiculous it is for police to equip as though the Symbionese Liberation Army were about to return [“Playing soldier in the suburbs,” Opinion, Aug. 18]. We don’t have to imagine such a scenario — just read the news.

Imagine that each day you step outside your door to go to work you are stepping into an arena where you are the target. This is the reality police live.

I do not want to live in a state that stands by its rights to arm any citizens who can pass a background check, but denies that right to the very ones who serve and protect them. Let us never forget that the majority of our law-enforcement officers not only protect our lives and our property, but they serve the communities of which they are also members.

To upbraid the police for taking advantage of a program that enables them to use mothballed military equipment doesn’t make sense. Instead of painting the police force as “us versus them,” let’s remember whose side they are on. I want my local officers safe so that they may save.

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